A clip-and-save guide to sleaze

STRAY-ROD That was Wednesday's headline on the back page of the New York Post over a picture of Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez walking down the street with a woman who is not his wife.

By TOM JONES
Published May 31, 2007

STRAY-ROD That was Wednesday's headline on the back page of the New York Post over a picture of Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez walking down the street with a woman who is not his wife. The story gave a detailed account of A-Rod's night in Toronto following a 7-2 loss the Blue Jays. According to the story, A-Rod met up with the woman at the Four Seasons hotel. They had dinner with two unidentified men then all four went to a strip club. The paper said A-Rod and the woman left the strip club alone and were last seen getting on an elevator together back at the Four Seasons. Rodriguez, who is married and has a 2-year-old daughter, issued a "No comment" when asked about the woman. Maybe it's spring and love is simply in the air. Or maybe A-Rod is a dog. Either way, it got us thinking about the juiciest and most sordid sex scandals in sports history.

The strippers trial

We were shocked, shocked we tell you, to learn that pro athletes go to strip clubs. Okay, who are we kidding? We've always known that, but in 2001, the story became public when a guy named Steve Kaplan, who owned the Gold Club in Atlanta, was charged with racketeering. It made for great courtroom drama when names such as Patrick Ewing and Andruw Jones surfaced. Both were witnesses with juicy testimony. Ewing said he had been, uh, serviced for free at the club. Jones, too, and he was only 19. The best line of the trial came from a former stripper who testified. When asked who was there on one particular night, she said, "The whole (expletive) NBA."

Live with Frank and Kathie Lee

Frank Gifford. He was America's golden boy, the former NFL player-turned-announcer. Kathie Lee Gifford. She was the sugary morning host. They were the perfect All-American couple. Until 1997. The tabloid The Globe hired a sexy flight attendant to seduce Frank in a hotel room equipped with cameras. Frank fell for the trap, but in a twist, the New York District Attorney considered bringing charges against The Globe for prostitution. The Giffords talked him out of it, and after issuing the usual "Please respect our privacy through this personal and difficult time ..." statement, the Giffords have gone on to stay married.

And baby makes four

Another All-American boy: New England quarterback Tom Brady. He ends his three-year relationship with actor Bridget Moynahan and starts dating supermodel Gisele Bundchen. Then comes the shocking news: Moynahan is pregnant. She's due this summer. But he continues dating Bundchen.

Dude looked like a lady

Dave Stewart was one of baseball's best pitchers in the 1980s, but in 1985, he made the wrong pitch. First, police observed him soliciting a prostitute in downtown Los Angeles. A few minutes later, Stewart was literally caught with his pants down along with a hooker named Lucille. Now the bad part: Lucille was actually a 27-year-old, 6-foot-3 man named Elson Tyler. The police said, "Mr. Stewart said he was unaware that Tyler was a male until after the arrest. That was his statement and we have reason to believe him."

Kobe's rape trial

Kobe Bryant seemed like the perfect role model. Smart, charismatic and the heir apparent to Michael Jordan for his mad basketball skills. That all changed on July 1, 2003, in a hotel room in Eagle, Colo. A young woman claimed she was raped. Bryant said the sex was consensual - even though Bryant was married. The criminal charges were eventually dropped and the two reached a settlement before a civil trial.

Eugene Robinson

So you're one of the coolest football players on the planet. Just a few days earlier you won the Bart Starr Award for "high moral character." It's the night before the Super Bowl, a Super Bowl that you're playing in. So what do you do? You go out and solicit a prostitute. This is the story of Falcons safety Eugene Robinson, who was busted the night before Super Bowl XXXIII against Denver in Miami when he offered an undercover cop money for sex. He was bailed out at close to midnight and the next day, his Falcons were crushed 34-19.

Yes!

This had to be the biggest stunner of sports scandals. Marv Albert? A freak? In 1997, Albert, the longtime NBA and NHL announcer, was accused of sexual assault. That wasn't the half of it. During the trial, bizarre details came out that Marv was into all sorts of kink, including wearing women's lingerie and biting. He pleaded to misdemeanor assault and battery, was fired by NBC and resigned from MSG in New York. But Albert has made it back and remains basketball's preeminent broadcaster.

Wade Boggs

The Tampa native is one of the most superstitious baseball players ever. He ate chicken every day. He took the field at the exact same moment every day. He is a member of the 3, 000-hit club and the Hall of Fame. And, yet, he is still partly known for one word: Margo. His four-year affair with Margo Adams blew wide open in 1989 when she sued him for palimony and posed for Penthouse magazine. Most of her lawsuit was thrown out, Boggs went on to finish a great career and, in a happy ending, Boggs and his high school sweetheart and wife, Debbie, have remained married for 31 years.

That's expensive

Rockies pitcher Denny Neagle paid $40 for a particular "act." It ended up costing him $19-million. Neagle, along with a woman, was pulled over for speeding in December of 2004. After police questioned the woman, they determined she was a prostitute and Neagle was busted. The Rockies voided Neagle's contract, which had $19-million left on it. Neagle tried to make it with the Devil Rays, but that didn't work out and he's now out of baseball.

We've left out plenty: the Duke lacrosse scandal, the Carolina Panther cheerleaders in a Tampa restaurant's restroom, former Alabama coach Mike DuBose and his affair with a secretary, Mike Tyson's troubles. It goes on and on. But we can't take anymore. We have to go wash our hands.